2017 jul - dec

december

the essex serpent - sarah perry

Waterstones Book of the Year 2016 - Shortlisted for Costa Novel of the Year 2016

Progress - Going back to free flowing novels has never felt better

Finished - 1st January 2018

Waterstones gave it their ultimate accolade last year and I kept seeing it when I was browsing and so eventually I took a punt. Apart from Dickens all the books about the Victorians have been non fiction so I have no idea how much I will like this.

I had a bit of a reading slump as 2017 came to a close and this was the book that lifted me out. Worthy of all praise and a book as you'd expect from an award winner one that would suit a lot of people's reading tastes.The writing is beautiful and reminded me of 'H is for Hawk' especially as a lot of the book is set in the nature. The characters are dimensional and believable, interacting with each other in interesting and sometimes surprising way. There is something great about the gothic quest for a mysterious creature in Victorian England (Aldwinter, Essex).The plot was well structured and always seemed sure of its direction in a way that another great read of 2017 'The Power' was not. Stella Ransome was for me the surprising star of a great show and it was a brilliant way to end 2017. ​

the book of the year - no such thing as a fish

Key Facts

Why this book?

Thoughts While Reading

Remembering

Quo​tes

<

>

Started - December 8th

Book Type - Humor - 368 Pages

A constant in the Amazon top 100 books in December

Progress - New sleep book which is fun and does its job

Finished - 1st March 2018

Waterstones gave it their ultimate accolade last year and I kept seeing it when I was browsing and so eventually I took a punt. Apart from Dickens all the books about the Victorians have been non fiction so I have no idea how much I will like this.

I'd only ever listened to one No Such Thing As A Fish podcast so this all pretty new to me and after reading I can see why it is so popular. Lots of great silly facts about 2017 and I found it a perfect sleep book as it was in bite size chunks it was easy to ready and stop when I was too tired.

I'll be buying the book of 2018 for sure.

​

November

october

chasing the sun - Richard cohen

Key Facts

Why this book?

Thoughts While Reading

Remembering

Quo​tes

<

>

Started - Late October

Book Type - Paperback - 610 Pages!!

One of the oldest unread books on my shelf

Progress - This might literally take until Christmas

Finished -

The Philip Pullman quote drew me in at the book store and maybe all the attention of The Book of Dust made me decide to finally pick this up. I hope it is like The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes, all the praise on its inside cover suggests that it should. The sun is one of the few things that is unchanged throughout human history, a constant connection with our past and which has always been of such importance. At over 600 pages it is a beast of a book but fingers crossed.

​The words detailed and thorough have never been better used for a book. This is going to take an awful long time to read

​

the rook - daniel o'malley

Key Facts

Why this book?

Thoughts While Reading

Remembering

Quo​tes

<

>

Started - 8th October

Book Type - Paperback -

A Laurence recommended read

Progress - This is a book that wants to be read quickly

Finished - Late October

My best reading friend Laurence gave me this last year along with the next book in the Rivers of London series

The praise by critics is as always reassuring to me the humble reader that I'm in a for a good time

Another fantasy book starts with a person with no memory. I'm not knocking it though. As long as it is well written as this is then it can be a great place to start

Matrix style got to escape and make a choice is a great opening

Cross between The Humans, Rivers of London, The Power and Raw Shark Texts means "Yeah"

Love Gestalt one brain controlling four bodies Great imagination

Not loving the consistent break in the plot to give another memoir by the old Myfamwey. I understand the story as a whole requires it but wish Daniel had found another way to do this.

OMG - I had no idea, not an inkling as this sat on my shelf all year how amazing this book would be. Even when I picked it up it was mainly because I thought I ought to read it and give it back to Laurence. Why? I thought my book nose was better than that. Anyway rant over ​

september

norwegian wood - murakami

Key Facts

Why this book?

Thoughts While Reading

Remembering

Quo​tes

<

>

Started - 7th September

Book Type - Paperback -

Been meaning to read another Murakami novel for a long time. This is his most popular

Progress - Good reading at lunchtime book

Finished - 7th October

1Q84. I could actually leave this section at that one word which brings back a multitude of memories. At times I loved and then hated the trilogy of books with equal measure. A Japanese Tolkein who can spend so long describing almost nothing but then hit the accelerator and provides magnificent drama. I love "The Town of Cats" which is a part of !Q84 and is a great example of why his words stay in your head.Looking forward to seeing how I react throughout Norwegian Wood which is the book that made him famous internationally

Murakami has a pace and style all of his own​. Nothing really happens and yet the story develops almost without notice

Suicide and sex for students in 1960's Tokyo something completely different

The pain of not fitting in, feeling broken. Vivid description of teenage depression

Reading Murakami is like watching the ocean on the shore, it's rhythmic almost hypnotic and somehow very good for the soul. I love the fact his main character Toru was very ordinary but extraordinarily honest with a big heart. I had read that the suicide rate in |apan has been a big issue and a quick google search confirmed that although not the highest it has been a serious problem for many years. ​I can only think this must be why suicide is such a dominant theme in this book. This book deals with the issue of coping with growing into an adult but also the freedom to think and act as you want to. It is interlaced with a lot of sex scenes which Murakami seems at ease writing and they give the book both a considerable amount of the plot and its definition which I wasn't expecting.I found I couldn't read Norwegian Wood for hours at a time even if I could. I read for 30 minutes or so and that felt enough but unlike a lot of books which I end up reading in this way it was never a chore to go back and pick it up each day. I will certainly read more Murakami but the timing between books similar to how I am reading Charles Dickens.

august

the road to little dribbling - bill bryson

Key Facts

Why this book?

Thoughts While Reading

Remembering

Quo​tes

<

>

Started - 20th August

Book Type - Paperback - 478 pages 11/14. Giovanni

Latest Bill Bryson book with lots of positive reviews from the media

Progress - Great sleeping book

Finished - 22nd September

I have read 10 of Bryson's previous 17 books over the years so he must rank as one of my favorite authors. As he as liking for travel, the countryside, science and history its fairly easy to see why. The Life and Times of a Thunderbolt kid about growing up in 1950's America was the book I liked far more than I expected to while "A Walk in the Woods" helped keep me sane when recovering from one of my many detached retina operations. Final mention to "One Summer" a book about the 1920's, one of the periods most fascinating when studying history is the book of his I'd of loved to have written.Fingers crossed that Bill's latest book is of similar quality.

Funny start but didn't like the over use of labeling people as stupid. A bit too Victor Meldrew and playing to the reader

President of British countryside organisation settled after tour of Europe and got a job in a mental institute

Stonehenge, Nat History Museum and lots of National Trust places got me thinking about joining

More opinionated Bryson in this book and most of the time it works

Why does he always go virtually everywhere alone? Would be good to know why his wife doesn't join him.

Really liked his rant about the far too simplistic view of immigration

This is as an opinionated as I can remember Bill ever being and in the most part I liked it a lot. Most importantly he kept his enthusiasm and curiosity which has in my opinion brought him his success. I learned he was Chairman of CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) which gave a depth to his countryside walks and how he came to visit England to see a couple of friends who were working as nurses, got a job, fell in love and stayed. There is a little bit of everything. Places I knew like Stonehenge and Bournemouth and curious places I knew nothing about and a couple of months on have forgotten the details. It has also made me seriously consider getting a family National Trust membership and getting out and seeing a bit more of our beautiful country.My only complaint is that it seemed like a bit of a lonely adventure at times and I kept wondering why his wife hadn't joined him on more of his travels?Still Bill Bryson is great, this made me laugh and smile most of time and it was an ideal read at the end of a day. ​

the time travellers guide to restoration britain - ian mortimer

Key Facts

Why this book?

Thoughts While Reading

Remembering

Quo​tes

<

>

Started - 18th August

Book Type - Hardback - 408 pages - Average typeset but not specified

Third installment of the series and my first in hardback.

Progress - Sleep book so pretty slow

Finished - December 20th

I've always loved history. An enjoyment that I have spectacularly failed to explain and pass on to my kids. At school I thought of history lessons as just learning and writing about stories. Almost everyone loves stories and the best ones are usually true and that's History in my eyes.I am also very glad that I live in 2017 with all its technical advances and comforts. Also at 43 I would pushing the average life expectancy for most of human history. Reading about history and trying to picture myself in those eras always makes me more grateful for the life I lead. ​ This is the whole point of the Time Traveller series and Ian Mortimer writes history the way I love it, with loads of enthusiasm. I almost never buy hardbacks as I buy books on a budget but the other books have been so good I couldn't resist.

Fire of London ran for 6 days made over 80,000 people homeless. Elaborate plans to redesign London couldn't be done due to land laws

Child mortality ran at around 40% and yet as % of total population people were a lot younger. We have no concept of this type of loss in today's world and it must of shaped so much of people emotions.

I find it hard to read more than a few pages at night and so it is taking a while to get through but still enjoyable. I even told a couple of colleagues about the fact that word bonfire comes from bonefire literally a fire of bones. Different to a wodefire.

​

the return - hisham matar

Key Facts

Why this book?

Thoughts While Reading

Remembering

Quo​tes

<

>

Started - 18th August

Book Type - Paperback - 276 Pages

Shortlisted for the costa biography award 2016

Progress - As steady as I can be with 3 books on the go!

Finished - 5th September

I was looking for a Gary Kasparov book in Waterstones, couldn't find it and I came across this instead. It reminded me a bit of H is for Hawk, an acclaimed non fiction book about dealing with the death of their father, but this time in far darker circumstances.A book to hopefully broaden my horizons.

​ Growing up with a dad who is an opposition leader and wanted man in your home country. ding

British ties with Libya under Blair further condemns him in my eyes.

The power of knowing a passage of writing off by heart. Reminded me of real life Shawshank

Probable death in Abu Salim prison 9th June when Hisham got up late and switched pictures at Nat Gallery.

Asks question. Can we sense death of a close relative. If so how. (Could quantum biology hold possible answer? MV)

Similarity of dictatorships regardless of religion. Control of the people and what they are able to learn and read.

Whenever I watch the news and hear about the conflicts in the Middle East you know there are stories within stories about the horror of being personally involved but that's usually as far as it goes and I turn my attention back to the football. The last Civil War in England was over 350 years ago the country I live in will not tear itself apart even in the doomsday Brexit scenario. This story centers on Hisham's father, leading the opposition to Gudaffi and what it is like to grow up with a father who played this role in life and then went missing in prison and the search to find out the truth about what happened to him.Hisham writes eloquently about his quest and his return to Libya and gave me an understanding of a life so very different from my own. As much as I wished for Hisham would be found alive it became obvious fairly on that there would be no happy ending as so often happens in real life. It did indeed remind me many times of H is for Hawk in terms trying and at times failing to come to terms with loss. I know the world slightly better having read this, I think this is a book that will either really appeal or not at all so it won't be easy to recommend but the picture of his dad reciting poetry to the other prisoners in the prison is a picture that leaves a big mark.

the power - naomi aldermann

Key Facts

Why this book?

Thoughts While Reading

Remembering

Quo​tes

<

>

Started - 14th August

Book Type - Paperback -

WINNER OF THE 2017 BAILEYS WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION​

Progress - A perfect holiday book

Finished - 17th August

Waterstones have been promoting this book quite heavily and like a lot of people I wanted to read it as soon as I read the plot summary especially as it is an award winner. So I treated myself to this and The Underground Railroad just before holiday although interestingly the Waterstones employee who I got chatting to and had read both was far more excited and the latter .I am really hoping its in the same league as 'The Hunger Games'

​​

I really enjoyed The Power and it was perfect holiday reading. Fantastic idea with a plot that was well thought out (especially the science) and even had a Lord of the Flies feel to it at times which I wasn't expecting. In the acknowledgements Naomi explains that she had some difficult times with the book which I can understand as there are so many different directions she could of taken with the world she created and I like that sort of honesty from an author.

Brutal at times Naomi uses the book to expose the exploitation of women which is rightly uncomfortable reading. It isn't perfect and the mixed reviews are probably testament to that but of all the books I've read this year its the easiest to recommend to anyone. In fact I did a book swap with a nice chap called Mick on holiday where we agreed I would leave it in the German section of the hotel library, which in itself gave me 2 minutes of feeling like a spy. I hope he picked it up and enjoyed it!​The best books stick in your head and demand to be thought about and discussed long after you've read them. I have a feeling this is one of those books and there are at least a couple more books from this world as well as a film/TV series . ​

Doped - james reid

Key Facts

Why this book?

Thoughts While Reading

Remembering

Quo​tes

<

>

Started - 11th August

Book Type - Hardback - 303 pages 11/14.75pt Garamond MT Std

William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2013

Progress - Reading by a pool in Corfu so quickest of the year

Finished - 14th August

I always try and read at least one one William Hill Sports Book of the Year nominee or winner each year so Doped has been on my radar for some time. I saw it in the British Heart Foundation shop when donating a load of stuff earlier in the year so it was a no brainer. My Granddad loved horse racing and always had it on the TV when we visited checking his accumulator but its not a love I share although I enjoy going to Newbury to see it live every once in a while. As an award winner I am hoping this will not be just for the fans in the same way as the amazing "The Boys in the Boat" was.

​

There is a 'Great Train Robbery' feel to this story with a great cast of characters and a plot that has gangters, high society, money, sport and a femme fatal. I liked it but to be honest I was glad it was over at the end. This was because there wasn't quite enough material for the book to flow unless you are mad about horse racing which I'm not, so some of the details about specific races were hard work to read.It also lacked a little bit of a personal touch or insight so you could almost see the extensive research James Reid obviously put in. Ben Macintyre and Robert Harris for example are brilliant at this skill.When it was good though it kept me thoroughly entertained. Seeing the charming rogue Bill Roper go ever deeper down the darkest of holes for his young Swiss mistress Michelle Lugeon is the stuff of greek tragedy. The brutality of the gang who did the dirty work and the motivations of the different characters such as The Witch Doctor was fascinating. Crime it seems can pay but only if you can reap its rewards without being subject to its risks which Max Parker owner of Ladbrokes and others in the know took full advantage of.

the soundtrack to my life - dermot o'leary

Key Facts

Why this book?

What I Learned

Remembering

Quo​tes

<

>

Started - Read the intro back in June but really started 31st July

Paperback - 290 pages Fairfield LH Light. First Published 2015

Christmas present from my wife's best mate Tina

Progress - Holiday read type of feel..

Finished - 9th August

Tina is a very lovely lady and she likes to buy me books for Christmas which makes her even nicer. Mostly non fiction the highlights being the biography of Dave Grohl "This is a Call" and WW2 survival "Do the birds sing in heaven".I am big biography fan although they can get a bit samey if you read too many too often and I am especially wary of the books brought out especially for Christmas.After the very serious but brilliant The Gene a bit of banter about The X Factor and celebs should be good. There is even a quote from a review from Heat magazine on the cover!!

Dermot is a similar age to me and was brought up by Irish parents living in a village in Essex

Met his TV hero Terry Wogan when he was young at a recording of his show

Studied politics at University and went travelling all over Europe. Got food poisoning in Prague spending a week in a hostel bed

Sent around 300 applications for TV jobs and finally got a job as a runner. Took a gamble and then went for screen tests

Hard work and uncertainty is part of the working in TV gig as well as some luck. Moved up through the ranks.

Took a chance and left for a shot at presenting and big break came doing T4 and then Big Brothers Little Brother for 8 years

Did gameshow for BBC which he thinks lead to being offered the X Factor Role

Big fan of Elbow and Athlete who played at his wedding.

July

the gene - siddhartha mukherjee

Key Facts

Why this book?

Thoughts While Reading

Remembering

Quo​tes

<

>

Started - 28th June

Hardback - 495 pages in a small but easy on the eye font

The last of the birthday list to be read

Progress - A bit of a beast but very readable

Finished - 30th July

When I mention that I read a fantastic book about cancer people tend to look at me like I am a bit weird so I choose my moments these days. But Siddhartha's Emperor of all Maladies gave a history and an understanding that was personal and technical in just the right shade of light and dark. My Granddad died of cancer 13 years ago and almost all of us are now touched by cancer in some way so if you are brave enough its worth going for it. As for The Gene it is not such an emotive subject and I have read quite a few books on the subject but I am really looking forward to seeing how Siddhartha approaches this fascinating subject.

An Intimate History : It begins with mental illness that runs through Siddhartha's family. That's a very personal way to start

A quote from Murakami's 1Q84 about humans being nothing but gene carriers - love it!

Mendel and Darwin. Little details about them and the time makes them feel like real people, Quality writing

The darkness of Eugenics, big in America and then taken to the extreme by Nazi Germany. Stalin anti-gene

Love the story of Watson and Crick and the double helix - never tire of the story

A couple of people at work have commented on the size of the book. My boss seeing me read this big open book asked if I was reading the bible. I showed him the cover and said "Well you could say I am!!"

Gene transfer still a bit hard to get my head around the finer points.

I find DNA and evolution truly wonderous and one of reasons for the naming of this website. Siddhartha shares this wonder and I thoroughly enjoyed his journey of how humanity discovered and then used this amazing knowledge....for better and for worse.​

When power is discovered man always turns to it - William Bateson

IQ....is-to simplify it somewhat-the most dangerous of all things:a meme masquerading as a gene

futebol nation - david goldblatt

Key Facts

Why this book?

Thoughts While Reading

Remembering

Quo​tes

<

>

Started - 25th June

Book Type - Paperback - 250 pages 11/14.75pt Garamond MT Std

Another £1 quality bargain from the closing down sale

Progress - New sleep book. A bit stop start due to decorating!!

Finished - 22nd August

David Goldblatt is known as one of the best football writers and his book The Game of Our Lives won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year and was a great thought provoking read.I have read a book on Brazilian football a few years ago, Futebol by Alex Bellos which was really interesting especially the part about the dribbling magician Garrincha so I am a bit worried it might be a bit samey. I do like sport books for before bed so worth a try.

Sets its intention to be a "proper" book exploring culture and politics. Interesting but a bit dry especially at bedtime

Charles Miller who brought futebol to Brazil makes his appearance in chapter 1 in a rich mans game

Seriously considering chucking this one in. The Gene is all consuming so we'll give one last go after

Brazilian football golden era of the 50's and 60's good to read

Feels almost more about a book about Brazilian politics than its actual football

Corruption and violence in football and society really shocking

Really liked the last few chapters on the modern era. Goldblatt in journalist mode and is all the better for it.

It took a long time for me to be absorbed into Futebol Nation and I confess I almost gave up on it a third of the way through. Only Garrincha, Pele and the teams of 1950-1970 kept me going. There were a lot of facts about Brazilian politics, culture and how they interacted with football, rather than stories of the football itself. It lacked flow at times and if it was a wine it would of been a very dry white which I don't like. The final third about Brazil in the modern era where David Goldblatt is able to write as a journalist rather than an historian was brilliant as well as truly shocking and disturbing. His words are full of energy, anger and despair and you can see why he wanted to write the book. The level of corruption and violence which dominates football and politics are entwined together and all at the expense of the working class who seemingly suffer what they must. If he would of started with the 2014 World Cup and then used this to trace the roots of the problems rather than the other way around it would of made it a better book.There is a wider context here too. Joao Havelange former president of FIFA was a mentor to Sepp Blatter and is the father in law to Ricardo Teixeira and they are all an ever present in the books on FIFA corruption 'Foul' and 'The Ugly Game'. Brazilian football not only dominated on the field but took its corrupt way of controlling football which David explains has been an ever present at the local level and turned the world governing body into what we see today. ​

Football provides the stage on which the desperate conditions and self destructive energies of Brazil's poor can be played out

When Ronaldo, clearly a man of mixed African and European heritage, was asked what he thought of racism in Brazilian football, he acknowledged its existence but replied 'I'm white, so I am really ignorant of these matters'

The political disengagement and apathy of the majority have often been the elite's most powerful resource